Retaining wall and method of constructing it



May 7, 1935.

H. E. MCKEEN RETAINING WALL AND METHOD OF CONSTRUCTING IT Filed March is, 1953 li' uanfur HanrYE. M 5551? 2 Sheets-Sheet 1 May 7, 1935. H. E. M KEEN I 2,000,492

RETAINING WALL AND METHOD OF CONSTRUCTING IT Filed March 16, 1935 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 fift Patented May 7, 1935 UNITED :sTATEs,

RETAINING WALL AND METHOD-F CONSTRUCTING IT Henry Eugene McKeen, Montreal, Quebec, Canada Application March 1c, 1932, semi No. 661,146.

l r cl im (crop-39y invention relates to a method of anchor-- ing structural members to a foundation bed, and

particularly connection with the constructionand repair of whar-ves, quays, dams, coffer dams, 5 groins, retaining walls and shore protect-ionwall-s, and an object of the invention is to provide a simple method 'of securing a fixed and positive anchorage in the rock, shale, hard parlor the like which-forms the foundation bed.

Further objects are to secure such'an anchor age as will enableadvantage to be taken of the negative bending moment of the structural elemen-ts, and general-ly to obtain greater structural strength without increased cost.

Further objects of the invention are to enable the method to be carried on without necessityof resorting to blasting or like operations, which, when the anchorage was near existing structures, would be attended with danger of undermining or otherdisturbance to them.

In the construction of wharves, quays, dams, coffer dams, groins, retaining walls and shore protection walls three practices have been resorted to; the first isthat of the gravity type structures, which are entered into position by their own weight, and their resistance to horizontal pressure is due to the friction at the base, which is necessarily an indeterminate quantity; the second, sheet piling is driven into the bed and anchored at the bottom by the weight of the material in front of the wall, the effect of which is also indeterminate, and third, by sinking caissons into the rock and anchoring them by means of dowel pins, the effect of which is uncertain due to the possibility of bending. The difficulty of any of these forms of construction is increased where there is an overburden of softer material or where the foundation bed itself is not of sufiicient hardness to enable a sufficient penetration to be obtained where sheet piling is used. According to the present invention the structural members which are to be anchored are inserted in pre-formed pockets, conveniently formed by boring operations, of substantial depth in the foundation bed adapted to receive the ends of the structural members, in which such members are held by a suitable setting material, all as hereinafter more fiflly set forth and described in the accompanying specification and drawings.

In the drawings:

Figure l is a sectional elevation of a retaining wall constructed in accordance with the present invention.

Figure 2 is a sectional elevation taken on the line 2-2 of Figure 1.

crete.

Figure 3 is a sectional plan taken on the line 3-3 of Figure 1. Figure 4 is a sectional detail taken on theline 4-4 of Figure 1'. p

a Figure is a sectional detail taken ontthe' line 5 5-5 of Figure '1.-

Figure 6 is a sectional elevation showing the invention applied to the supports of an existing v un'sare crib structure. 5 In the drawings like characters of reference in dicate corresponding parts in all the figures. 1

Referring first to the forms shown in Figures 1 5, A indicates the foundation :bed of rock, shale or hand span in which :are formed a series of pockets' i l! (of substantial depth and adapted toreceive 15 oneend of each structural member ,3, sufficient space being. left between the members and the pocketto receive a setting material, such as cement'cor concrete, These pockets may be convenientlylformed :by a boring operation, a rotary or :other drill, and may :be made of a depth sufficient to give the necessary rigidity to the struc- -tural member B, which normally extends vertically. 'I'his depth for any given structure can be readily calculated, since, owing to the manner of constructing the anchorage, the fixity of the structural members is assured and the negative bending moment at the foot of the wall may be taken advantage of and allowed in the calculations.

. Thestructural members B, which extend parallel to each other, may be of any convenient shape, those shown being of H-shaped beams.

In forming the pockets l9, if there is an'overburden, pipe casings may be used and forced through the overburden either by driving, jetting or boring. The pockets l0 are then bored to the required depth and the structure members B are inserted in the pockets as indicated on the drawings; The voids in the pockets ID are then filled with concrete or other suitable setting material, and the pipe casings, if used, are removed. In some instances the pipe casingsmay be allowed to remain in position, the voids between them and the structural members being filled with con- To complete the wall stop log members C, of concrete, steel or wood, may be jetted, driven or dropped into place between thestructural members B. If desired additional support 7 may be given to the top of the structural members by tie-rods E. a

Referring now to Figure 6, which shows the method and structure as applied to the support of an existing crib which is unsafe, F indicates the existing unsafe structure and G the retaining wall constructed as already described, between which and the crib a back-fill H of concrete, sand or other suitable filling material may be inserted. In this case it will be observed that the anchorage can be effected without the use of explosives and therefore without danger of undermining or disturbing the existing structure.

According to the present invention, owing to the fixity of the anchorage in the foundation bed, a retaining wall or groin may be designed as a cantilever, and advantage may be taken of the negative bending moment, as already pointed out.

Various modifications may be made in the invention without departing from the spirit thereof or the scope of the claims and, therefore, the exact forms shown are to be taken as illustrative only and not in a limiting sense, and I desire that only such limitations shall be placed thereon as are imposed by the prior art or are specifically set forth in the appended claims.

What I claim as my invention is: v

1. The method of building a retaining wall upon a bed of solid rock, which consists in drilling a series of vertical sockets in the rock, placing a beam as a ,simple beam vertically on end in each socket, reducing the bending moment of each beam by rigidly and structurally fixing its inserted end with respect to its socket, andconnecting the upstanding portions of the beams by a bearing surface arranged to receive a horizontal load. 7 1 V 2. The method of building a retaining wall upon a bed of solid rock, which consists in drill-1 ing a series of vertical sockets in the rock to a uniform depth below the rock level, seating a beam as a simple beam vertically on end in each socket, reducing the bending moment of each beam by rigidly and structurally anchoring its inserted end againstany movement within its socket, and connecting the upstanding portions of the beams by a bearing surface arranged to receive a horizontal load.

3. The method of building a retaining wall upon a bed of solid rock, whichconsists in drilling a series of vertical sockets in the rock to a depth below the ultimate rock level, seating a beam as a simple beam vertically on end in each socket, rigidly and structurally bonding the inserted ,end of each beam to the rock by disposing a plastic setting material in each socket whereby to reduce the bending moment of each beam, and connecting the upstanding portions of the beams by a bearing surface arranged to receive a horizontal load.

4. A retaining wall structure comprising in combination, a natural hard rock bed provided with a series of vertical sockets cut therein below the ultimate surface level, a support flanged beam vertically seated on end in each socket and extending as an integral unit to the top of the Wall, the depth of each socket being only a small fraction of the length of itsassociated beam, a

socket having their flanges adjacent to the walls of the sockets and extending as integral units to the top of the wall,-the depth of each socket being only a small fraction of the length of its associated beam, a bond of plastic setting material in each socket rigidly uniting the inserted beam ends with the rock, bearing members connecting the upstanding portions of the beams to receive a horizontal load and supported by the beams.

HENRY EUGENE MCKEEN. 

